In my last article I talked about how different people learn, and also about how both instructors and students should be aware of this to further improve their performance.

And that brings me to the flip side of the topic. How do you know when you have mastered a technique? There are different types of ‘knowing’. And mastering one ‘type’ of knowledge may not necessarily be enough to say the technique is mastered. Here are a few different types of knowledge that I consider when learning a technique:

1. Repetition-based knowledge: The idea that the more we do something, the better we become at it. But how many? Is it true that in order to internalise a technique you have to repeat it correctly 10,000 times?! Some say so. Others say 5,000. Others say any number from 100 to 20,000. The reality is that research on the topic varies significantly. One thing that is generally agreed on is the process – when you do something over and over, your brain quite literally rebuilds itself to suit what you are doing. Neurons rewire to make pathways faster for something that needs to be done repeatedly and more efficiently, and your body changes – sometimes subtly and sometimes not so – to adapt to what you are doing. Speaking from personal experience, I have seen people do 5,000 repetitions and still not get it right, and people do something once or twice and then perform it perfectly every time thereafter. And even the same person can experience great variance while learning different techniques. Some come easily, some do not. While the number of repetitions needed to internalise something varies form one person to another, and for different techniques, the common thread is how the learning will manifest:a. Conscious repetition – we focus on the technique and different aspect of it while we perform it. This is the lowest level of learning and requires significant ‘processing power’ from your brain to do correctly.b. Semi-conscious – enough repetitions have been done so that the technique is performed correctly, but certain things may still not ‘work’. This can include recognising the triggers for using the technique, doing it at full speed, doing it as it flows form other techniques, etc.c. Subconscious – enough repetition has been done so that the response is subconscious, automated, accurate, etc.This process is similar to learning how to drive – first you have to understand the mechanics of how to shift gears, etc. Then you start paying more attention to what is going around you. Finally, you are totally relaxed and you adapt to what is happening on the road without thought.

2. Intellectual understanding: This refers more to understanding the underlying principles of the technique. Why does it work? When does it work? How does it work? Where does it work? Who does it work on? But how does one gain this knowledge? Your teacher should impart you with some of it; other ways could be experiential or research-based, for example reading about the mechanics of the human body.

3. Resistance-based knowledge: Techniques should be practiced at 3 levels of resistance – no resistance, some resistance and full resistance. It is imperative to do all three in order to correctly develop technique over just ‘forcing the technique’. Deep knowledge means being able to perform the technique at all 3 levels of resistance, without lowering the ‘success rate’.

4. Flow-based knowledge: Learning a technique as part of a sequence. A good example of this is boxing combinations. A combination is made up of individual techniques that flow from one to the other.Deep understanding of a technique means also having an understanding of what techniques link to it (and again we look at what, when, where, how, why and who). Can you smoothly integrate the technique into a sequence, and understand the ‘technical timeline’ of application, or do you only know how to do that technique as singular technique?

5. Experiential knowledge: Quite often the most value by students, and the hardest to obtain, this refers to having tried and tested the techniques ‘for real’, outside of the dojo environment. Different types of experience include in self-defence or in competition. The main problem with this is that having to use techniques in real life comes with the downside of consequence. Failing in competition means not only hurt egos (which are often a good thing…) but the risk of serious physical damage; failure in self-defence could mean possible death. Gaining experiential knowledge in competition is relatively easy – train hard, develop skills and eventually compete. Unfortunately, experience in self-defence often means working in a line of work that is considered high-risk – security, corrections, law-enforcement, military, etc. Unfortunately this is not always realistic for many arts! Even with full protective gear and full contact, it is unlikely to have the same experience as a real attack outside of training.

It is important, both as a student and as a teacher, to understand these different types of knowledge and encourage them all. It is natural that some classes focus on certain elements more than others, but in order to have a deep understanding of the art you choose to practice I recommend that you look at all five of these.

I am a ‘spreadsheets and lists’ kind of person, and so I like to keep tabs on what I practice and how, which helps me make sure that I both practice and teach all of these elements. You can find your own way of doing so – mind maps, lists, drawings, checklists, diary, etc. Keep track of what you practice and how, and adjust for what you are missing in order to gain a deep and rounded understanding of every element of your art.

Often, the style we prefer to learn is determined by the preferred learning style we have. Nice tongue twister. But what does it mean?

Different people learn in different ways. It is important to understand your own way of learning, as well as understanding others' if you wish to be a good teacher.

Generally speaking, the three primary learning styles are:• Visual – People who learn best by seeing; this can include demonstration, charts, pictures, etc.• Auditory – people who learn best by hearing; this can include verbal explanations, lectures, etc.• Tactile or Kinaesthetic – people who learn best by doing; this includes things like drills, sparring, etc.

While everyone uses all three when they learn, most people will have one dominant learning style.

As a teacher (instructor, sensei or whatever you call yourself…), it is extremely important to be able to teach in a way that will suit each student, and this is in fact much easier than many instructors believe, and generally speaking can be combined.

The next time you teach or train, pay attention to the following:1. You can recognised ‘Visual’ learners as they will often want to see what the technique looks like when it is performed, what the opponent’s body looks like when the technique is working, etc. You will often find that they ask questions like ‘can you show me again’, and may walk around while you are demonstrating to try and see the technique from different angles. They may also want to watch someone spar before having a go.When you show a technique, do you pay attention to the fine details and how the technique ‘looks’? Can you mimic what others do to show them where they have made a mistake, and then demonstrate the correct way for their attributes (i.e. size, weight, strength, fitness level, reaction time, etc.)?2. You can recognise ‘Auditory’ learners as they often like to hear explanations as a series of steps – first you do this, then you do that, etc. They will ask questions like ‘can you explain it again’, and will often talk themselves through a technique when performing drills. They may also like to have a coach tell them how to pick apart their opponent during sparring, and are generally good at ‘listening to the corner’.Can you explain the different elements of the technique? I think this can be broken down into two elements – the physical components (the ‘what’, ‘when’ and where’) and the intellectual components (the ‘why’ and ‘how’). I believe that this is often a line that separates average instructors from good ones. In order to understand techniques and applications, we must always be able to explain the physical components, i.e. how the technique is performed. For example, step there, punch here, rotate this, kick that. But in order to enable students to have a deep understanding of a technique, the intellectual aspects must be taught as well. In order words, we want to also explain why and how the technique works; what are the underlying physiological principles of the technique, how it affects the body, etc.3. You can recognise kinaesthetic learners, as they will offer volunteer to be the first to have the technique performed on them in partner drills and will usually be the first to run and try it after and explanation, or maybe even quietly rehearse or shadow the movements while you are showing the technique. They will ask questions like ‘can you do it on me’ or ‘can I do it on you’. They will often prefer technique drills and sparring to anything else.The old saying ‘feeling is believing’. Can you perform the technique with different students, or do you always select your best student? While in traditional martial arts it is customary and respectful to select the highest-ranking student, it can be good for all students to experience the technique. While this is difficult to do due to time constraints, especially in big classes, it is not a bad idea to walk around and get everyone to ‘experience’ the technique at some point in the class, and important to change partners regularly to try it with different people.

With a bit of practice, it is in fact quite easy to incorporate all of this into every demonstration and drill, and contrary to what some say, it is not time consuming at all. Furthermore, you will find that you are richly rewarded when you identify your student’s learning style, as you will notice great improvements in their ability to learn and retain techniques and knowledge.

As a student (which we all are!), I highly recommend that you start identifying the ways that you learn best, as you will see great rewards.

We have all been in the situation (either as a teacher of a student) where an explanation does not make sense, and the person who is teaching simply repeats the same explanation as if saying it louder will make it clearer.Often, explaining it using a different learning style will give you that ‘Eureka!’ moment.

The infamous phrase ‘reality-based training’ once again returns to feature in an article…

Many students come to learn martial arts in order to learn how to defend themselves. Most students, when looking at instructor profiles, get thoroughly impressed when they see military, law-enforcement, or security experience. They think - “this person has dealt with real violence! They can teach me how to defend myself ‘for real’”. While, this may be true, it can also be very misleading.

I have trained with a large number of self-defence experts over the years and the term ‘reality-based’ gets thrown around all of the time. One theme appears to be consistent – most instructors will say during classes or seminars, ‘in reality, this is how things will happen’. And they are all right, and they are all wrong.

A paradox? Not really.

Most instructors train and teach for their reality. What do I mean by that?

The ‘reality’ of violence is often a product of the following:o Experience: Instructors with military experience often teach self-defence that is suited for fighting a war in a foreign country against armed forces. Instructors with experience in corrections often teach self-defence that is suited to working in the prison system. Instructors with experience in private security often self-defence that is suited for working in areas high-traffic areas where violence is often fuelled by drugs or alcohol. o Location – Violence takes different shapes and patterns in different countries. Some countries are more likely to experience armed robberies then home invasions, more sexual assault then kidnappings, etc. Instructors often teach for what is common in their reality. o Media – The focus of the media on violence creates a certain perception of what is likely and unlikely to happen in your location, age group, socio-economical background, etc. Fears are often based on this, and as a result classes also focus on what the latest media hype is.

The above list is certainly not an exhaustive one, but you can see how personal circumstances and factors can shape what is being taught. And don’t get me wrong – this is not always a bad thing. We can only teach what we have experienced and know for certain works (although some don’t adhere to that principle, but this is a discussion for another time).

However this also presents some issues:1. We have to teach for the student's attributes, not for our own – while classes should have a structure and curriculum, this should be modified to suit the student’s needs. A 50 years old, 5’1 woman who weighs 45kgs may not be able to use the same technique effectively as a 20 year old, 6’3, 95kgs man, and vice versa. 2. We have to teach for the consequences students will face – legal use of force is an important thing to know fo where you are teaching. Dropping someone to the ground and kicking them repeatedly in the head is something you may be able to get away with in some countries, but not so much in others. Are your instructors teaching you skills that suit the legal system where you live? Are they making you aware of the potential consequnces of your actions?3. We have to teach for where the students are, not where we come from – A recent visitor to our dojo recently asked me why, as a Krav Maga instructor, I don’t teach firearm disarms in every single class. I calmly asked him if he could tell me how many times in the past year gun violence was mentioned in the news in Perth. He stared at me blankly and repeated ‘but you teach Krav Maga!’. I decided to shoot a little straighter (excuse the pun) and asked him what, in his estimation, is the likelihood of me, or one of my students, facing a gun-wielding terrorist in suburban Perth. His reply? You guessed it – ‘but you teach Krav Maga’!. I guess you can’t win them all! One of my favourite sayings is you should spend 90% of your training time practising how to deal with what is 90% likely to happen. Make sure that you spend the right amount of time learning and ptractising things that will help you for what you, not someone else, is likely to face.

So when you look for self-defence classes, make sure that you find someone who will teach for your reality, and think long and hard about what your reality actually is!

Martial Arts can be an incredible force in the life of a young person. It can provide focus, structure, culture, problem solving capabilities and solid strategies to deal with bullying and other various challenges that life will throw at them. But it's not for everyone, and for some kids it's important to consider the type of training they may need before throwing them into a martial arts programme.

Will Martial Arts help my child's behaviour problem?

Perhaps. But it's important to keep in mind that most martial arts instructors are not child psychologists nor behavioural specialists. Most martial arts instructors who teach kids are passionate about their art to the degree that they are willing to often donate their time in order to pass on what they have learned. Many have the best intentions about helping kids develop key life skills as well as specialist martial arts skills - but in a group lesson they are rarely prepared for kids who need special one-on-one attention. Private lessons are better for that purpose.

Without a doubt, a good kids martial arts program will involve an ongoing discussion about the traditional principles that underpin things like Bushido and Samurai philosohy; values like honesty, respect, courage, and service. But studies show that by the time a child has reached the age in which they can effectively learn martial arts, the larger part of their character has already formed. Martial arts cannot rewire the mind of a young person to understand and uphold these principles if they are not present in some way already. At the end of the day, if these things aren't present at home, they won't be possible at the dojo. In traditional martial arts, people who aren't vetted and assured of certain behavioural traits are not even permitted to train.

It seems that many parents are under the impression that children's bad behaviour will be solved by their martial arts instructor. The truth is that behaviour problems cannot be addressed in a one or two hour training session once or twice a week. Chances are that if there are behaviour problems with young kids there is a high possibility that they need to be dealt with first by the parents - and discussing a consistent approach with your child's martial arts instructor could certainly help. But sending a child with a behaviour problem to a martial arts class and avoiding the discussion with the instructor will almost always create more frustration on everyone's part.

Should I watch my child during the martial arts class?

While we understand that, as parents, everyone wants to ensure the safety and good experience for their kids, we have found that parents in close proximity to the training area are only a distraction to the kids - who should be concentrating on something which is quite difficult to grasp at times. Wouldn't it be great if you could watch the kids while at the same time they could still concentrate on learning the key martial arts concepts they are training without being distracted? How often are parents encouraged to hang out at primary school while classes are being conducted? Hopefully there will be times where parents are invited and encouraged to watch their kids perform the martial skills they have learned, but during the course of regular training the kids are best left under the supervision and instruction of their teacher.

How old should a child be to start martial arts?

This question is asked quite frequently. Largely it depends on the child, the teacher, and the art being practiced. For less contact oriented martial arts, where students practice "forms" on their own with a teacher correcting things like thier position, angles, foot placement etc, 5 years old is certainly within this cognitive capability. But for more contact oriented martial arts like Wrestling, Krav Maga, Judo or Jiujitsu, because there is often a competitive / combative element to the training, it is often too challenging for kids under the age of 7 to start putting all these things together at once. Often when young kids are placed in an environment like this, the injury rates are higher. And kids should learn that martial arts is a place where they learn how not to get hurt.

How will I know if martial arts is right for my child?

Just like anything it needs to be given a fair go. There are many different types of kids martial arts, teachers and philosophies.

A friend in the USA sent his young daughter to a martial arts class for 7 years - and within that time she received an advanced rank by the time she was 12 years old, whereuopn she started teaching other kids. Even though she did extremely well in tournaments and gradings, could do double-spinning-back kicks over the heads of most people, one day she was presented with a dangerous situation and did not know what to do. This element had been left out of her training. She eventually got discouraged, lost faith in the system and gave up completely, virtually turning her back on years of work and achievement.

How should kids get started in martial arts?

Most good children's martial arts classes will have a trial period which should be used as an evaluation of how well the arrangement is working - both from your child's and the dojo's perspectives. You may find it is exactly what you are looking for. Perhaps there may be an interest there but your child is not at a dojo that works for their personality. Talk to the teachers. Observe a class first before bringing your child. What are the qualifications of the instructors and what kind of vibe do you get from them? What are the kids doing and are they gaining any skills or is it more of an advanced form of child care? What is actually being taught - and is it relevant to the things you believe are important for your child?

Martial arts can be the cornerstone of a child's development if all these (and other) factors are a good fit. In some cases, it can provide a personal system for your child that can be applied to everything in life as they grow and mature; helping them deal with challenges of all kinds, think quickly on their feet, and build a cultural connection that will give them a true appreciation and love for life. Or not. As parents, we have to do our homework too.

In the last article I discussed the ‘Dojo Syndrome’.I had received some very positive feedback about it, with many instructors saying ‘this is exactly what often happens!’ and had a few requests to post some more tips. Thanks for the support, and I hope you enjoy this!

Here is a quick recap of what the ‘Dojo Syndrome’ is:

The 'Dojo Syndrome' is what happens when our training partners make our training unrealistic for the sake of making techniques work; now, before I get into why this is a bad habit, give some examples and offer some ways to get around it, I want to emphasise that developing technique is obviously an important part of martial arts training. In fact, many people consider it the most important thing. But while technique is always important, we must remember that it must be practiced in 3 levels of resistance - no resistance, some resistance and full resistance. Failure to do so will inevitably result in the technique failing you when you need it against an opponent who has no respect for your technique, such as a street attacker.

Here are a few more tips to help you improve your training:

1. ‘Forward fighting’ – Attacks in the context of self defence are likely to happen from the sides and back, not just from the front. It is therefore important to practice your techniques from different entry angles. You should be able to strike, move, throw, lock, etc., in every direction. Yet, many people train for the front on attack only. Change your angles. Make your attacker walk around you in a circle, without moving, and attack with any attack at any point in the circle. You will improve your peripheral vision and learn to work off the angle that is given to you.

2. ‘The advertised knife’ – often, defences against weapons are practiced with your assailant shaped up in front of you with the weapon already in their hand. This is similar to ‘the shaped fighter’ discussed in the previous article. If someone walked up to you in the street with a knife clearly visible in his or her hand and you not only stayed there, but also waited for the attack and then attempted a technique you would be a fool – quite probably a badly hurt one. Much like in ‘the shaped fighter’ we need to practice this from a position of concealment just as much as an advertised weapon. Do some sparring when one of the partners takes out a knife all of a sudden and attacks the other; practice multiple attacker scenarios where the knife comes out at an unexpected point, etc.

3. ‘The tea break’ – When dealing with multiple attackers, you don’t have the time to take more than a few seconds per attacker. Remember, when training for self-defence you should be training for a blitz, not a lengthy campaign. The whole thing will be over in a couple of seconds, one way or the other. Yet often, training partners spend too long dealing with one attacker, leaving the other attackers (assuming there is more than one) to do as they will. Train with a time limit, when the next attacker engages within anywhere from 3-5 seconds after the initial attacker has commenced his attack, regardless of whether the defender has dealt with them or not.

4. ‘Returning to the crime scene’ – This, personally, is one of my pet hates and I see it happen all the time. Together with the ideas of ‘forward fighting’ and ‘the shaped fighter’, I often see people train to dodge an attack, counter, etc., and finish the technique only to come back to stand exactly where they started which, 9 times out of 10, will be directly in front of the attacker. This not only ignores the realities of multiple attackers, grappling, etc., but also limits your field of vision and locks you into a tunnel vision headspace where you focus solely on what’s in front of you. You have to keep moving! I usually allocate one or two students (including myself) to walk around and tag people on the back of the head lightly when they see someone do this. Often, I won’t tell the rest of the class who those two people are either…

5. ‘Sequenced multiplicity’ – We know that real attacks often happen when one is outnumbered, and many schools train for multiple attacker scenarios, which is great. However often, multiple attacker scenarios turn quickly into ‘sequenced attacks’ scenarios where the attackers attack one after the other in a line, or wait (remember the tea break?) until the defender has finished the technique before attacking. This is not always a bad thing, especially when students do not have much experience, but should be interspersed with multiple attackers at the same time, whether in sparring on in self-defence drills. This forces you to move and deal with attacks quickly and effectively. Techniques such as going to ground and grappling for submission go out the window at this point, and you must focus on footwork, striking, blitz attacks and coming to terms with the reality that when you are attacked by more than one person simultaneously, you are more than likely going to get hit!

We often refer to something called the 'Dojo syndrome' in training. This is especially relevant when training for self-defence.

The 'Dojo Syndrome' is what happens when our training partners make our training unrealistic for the sake of making techniques work; now, before I get into why this is a bad habit, give some examples and offer some ways to get around it, I want to emphasise that developing technique is obviously an important part of martial arts training. In fact, many people consider it the most important thing. But while technique is always important, we must remember that it must be practiced in 3 levels of resistance - no resistance, some resistance and full resistance. Failure to do so will inevitably result in the technique failing you when you need it against an opponent who has no respect for your technique, such as a street attacker.

So let's look at the most common 'dojo syndromes' and offer some ways to get around them:

1. 'The Dummy' - Your training partner punches (or kicks) and leaves the arm (or leg) outstretched in order to 'give you the technique'. Very common! And it's ok for the first few times, in order to get your technique right. But remember, a real attacker will not leave their arm for you to lock or break; they will punch and retract, only to attack again. The most obvious fix for this is simply not to leave the arm there! But this could ruin a whole training session quickly if it focuses on locks and restraints. So here is another idea - traditional martial arts as well as modern self-defence systems emphasise the concept of 'imbalance' or 'distraction'. Simply put, before we attempt any lock, throw, restraint, etc., we have to give ourselves the time and ‘pliability’ needed to do so. The best way to do that is to strike! The next time you are training with your partner and you throw a punch, make sure they counter in some way (strike, punch, kick, distraction, etc.), which will allow them to work the lock. Otherwise, retract your hand immediately. Both you and your partner will develop good habits from this!

2. 'The shaped fighter' - We are used to training ace to face with a training partner who also has training. The result, almost without fail, is that you stand in front of each other in a fighting stance and practicing the techniques from there. But we know that this is not the case outside of the dojo; the attacker who wishes to knock you out in one punch is unlikely to shape up in front of you and is more likely to try and sucker punch you. We also know that if someone shapes up in front of us outside of the dojo, they have indicated that they are about to attack! We therefore consider it a bad habit to start drills when the attacker is already in a fighting stance. They should keep their hands down! If they are already shaped up, they have told you an attack is coming and therefore you should already be running away or engaging. How do you fix this? Easy! If your partner shapes up, simply run or engage before they throw!

3. 'The trained fighter' - Most of our training partners have some experience. As a result, when practicing self-defence they will throw strikes with good technique. Since they also know what you are about to do, they will often ‘give the technique’ in more subtle ways such as automatically turning the right way for a lock, positioning their feet the right way or falling where you expect them to fall. But if we think of the common street thug, chances are they have not had proper training (and if they have, defending yourself will be much more difficult!) and are more likely to throw uncontrolled, wild strikes, not have good footwork and not do beautiful break-falls to land exactly where you expect.This is exactly why I love doing pressure drills and training with resistance with beginners more than I do with advanced students - advanced students will make your techniques look good; beginners will make your techniques work for real. This is also a lesson for advanced students – working with beginners, especially in self-defence, is often the best kind of training you can do.A good way of getting around this is by running different drills with your partners, such as sparring against a skilled opponent, sparring against wild swings, etc., where you partner purposely uses ‘bad’ technique.

4. ‘The “I’m so sorry!”’ – a reality of martial arts training, just as it is for self defence, is that you have to become comfortable with two realities. The first is that you are going to get hit; the second is that you are going to have to hit someone else. These two issues result in two things happening in training. The first is that the attackers purposely aim to miss (and then leave out their arm outstretched, etc.). There is no way to say it other than you should always, ALWAYS train for contact. That doesn’t mean hard contact for every attack in every session, but if you are training to miss you are learning bad habits and giving your partner false confidence. The second is the defender doing the exact same thing. Then when either actually makes contact, they always apologise. Again, nothing wrong with wanting to preserve you training partner, and contact should be gauged based on the level of experience, etc., but part of martial arts and self defence training is contact, and you should get comfortable with it. Always aim for the target!

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but only a few ideas to help you improve your training!

The festive season is a time of joy and celebration of family, friends, presents and much-deserved holidays and rest.

Unfortunately, many researchers show that there is a relationship between holidays and increases in crime rate, including home crime and domestic abuse. The 2014 new year celebrations in Sydney were marred by the death of a Sydney partygoer who was 'king hit' from behind and later died, and unfortunately the statistics show that with increased consumption of alcohol and other party favours, violence also tends to increase.

So, here are some quick handy tips to help you keep your jolly season jolly, rather than silly!

1. Don't leave all of your presents piled up under the tree by your front window, where anyone can see them, smash a window, grab what they can and make a run.2. If you are going away, make sure that your house still looks occupied. Ask a trusted neighbour to collect your mail. If you have a timer or automated system for lights, use it. Don't leave the front lights on 24 hours a day. Alternatively, you can ask someone you trust to come in and turn some lights on and others off once a day.3. Don't post your holiday dates, destinations, etc., on social media, especially if you are one of those people who randomly add people on Facebook.#awayonholiday = #breakintomyhouse4. Everyone loves gifts! But don't leave the boxes of all of your new electronics on the street or by your bin, as you will be advertising what can be found inside your house!5. We all know that the spare key is under the bin, in the post box, in the pot plant, etc. Don't leave it there!

If you are going to party, please make sure that you:

1. Nominate a designated driver

2. Plan your route home and make sure someone know where you are at all times.

3. Don't wander the streets late at night by yourself, stick to well-lit areas and make sure you are aware of your surroundings – don't be distracted by your phone or walk with your headphones in.

Knowing how to turn your attackers on, or off, is actually pretty important! So let's start with the back story...

The effects of adrenaline in self-defence situations are well documented.What most of us know is this:As soon as we detect danger, we experience the 'fight, flight or freeze' response. Adrenaline floods into our system, we become stronger, faster and feel less pain. We also tend to experience tunnel vision, loss of spacial awareness, time warps, auditory exclusion, etc., etc. A big part of self defence training focuses on getting oneself used to that experience, functioning effectively through it and managing it, to the extent that this can be safely done in a training environment. Still, we know that the adrenal response can be a huge disadvantage in many cases and severely limits the way we think and fight.

One thing is often left unsaid though. The person who is attacking you, or is about to attack you... Do they experience this? If so, how can you use it to your advantage? If he/she is not experiencing adrenal dump, how can you trigger it in them in order to tip the conflict in your favour?

Geoff Thompson, in his excellent book 'Dead or Alive' (which I believe everyone should read), offers some tips and tricks to identify and trigger adrenal response in the opposition.

Before we discuss this though, let us discuss something else. Is adrenaline always a bad thing? The answer is no. Miller (2008), in his book 'Meditations on Violence', identifies several levels of adrenaline response in the body, as follows:1. Normal – this refers to your every-day mind and body, when one is often unprepared for an intense violent encounter. When we get hit with a sudden rush of adrenaline in this state, the response is often to freeze, while the mind tries to cope with what is happening and decide on a course of action. Unfortunately this takes precious time, especially if the attack has already begun and you are taking damage.2. Optimal – this is when we are alert, engaged and physically ready for an altercation. A good example of this is when you prepare yourself to spar in training. You are alert, and this will usually provide the best reaction time, as well as the ability to plan and make tactical decisions as options present themselves.3. Past optimal – in this case we have gone past the optimal state, and will often result in similar symptoms as previously mentioned, with serious impairment to physical and mental skills.4. Pessimal – absolute loss of control, both physically and mentally, which often results in total freezing, and even loss of bladder and bowel control.

An interesting anecdote that Miller (2008) points out, is that untrained people often fight better than they normally would under adrenal response, while trained people often fight worse. This relates to trained martial artists often trying to apply fine motor-skill and complicated techniques in situations where making them work is very hard. It also relates to the fact that when you have many techniques and options to choose from, it will take more time to decide on a course of action. Ask yourself now - do I block, evade, cover, counter, kick, punch, elbow, knee, head butt, throw, lock, grapple, choke, etc.? just reading that sentence took you a few seconds, and making a decision and executing it will take a few more! Unfortunately, time in those situations, is often not on your side. This indicates that if your 'autopilot' is not properly programmed – in other words if the correct responses are not rehearsed to an instinctive level – then your chances of survival in sub-optimal adrenal response conditions are drastically reduced.

So how does one identify, or even trigger these in an attacker?Let's look at what we already know in terms of the visual signs that someone is being affected by adrenaline. These include sweating, shaking, posturing, clenched fists, closing distance, flaying of arms, pale skin, difficulties in verbalising thoughts, etc. An indication that an attack is imminent is often that the attacker will stop using whole sentences and will revert to single words and/or syllables. Being aware of these signals will give you a handy clue that something may be about to happen.

Now is the time to make another decision. Do you want to turn the attacker on? Or maybe you prefer to turn them off?

We have two options here in order to control the opponent's adrenaline response:1. To lower the adrenal response (turn them off)– by being submissive, the opponent's adrenaline flow may reduce as the perceived danger is lowered. This may allow you to get them to lower their guard in order to escape or strike first. This is best done when you have no other alternative but to fight.2. To increase the adrenal response (turn them on) – Thompson (1997) identifies two ways of doing this. One is by becoming overly loud and aggressive, the other is by acting cool and uncaring as if you have been in this situation a thousand times before. The idea in both cases is to create hesitation and fear in the other party, by making them believe that they are likely to get hurt if they attack. This will often send their adrenaline past the optimal level, and may bring about a flight or a freeze response.

So how do you train something like this?I think this depends a lot on the environment in which you train, but the best way for me has been by simply trying this out on unsuspecting training partners! They prepare to attack me during a routine drill, but instead of doing the technique I will simply try to distract, talk them into doing something else, or yell at them at the top of my voice... But another option is by using scenario training, where you don't know what the final outcome is. In other words, the people who are the 'bag guys' in the scenario may decide to attack you, or they may not, depending on how you react. This teaches both training parties how to manage their adrenaline and gives different ways of solving the problem before actually getting to the physical stage.

Every martial artist has the thing they enjoy the most. Some enjoy striking while some enjoy grappling, some enjoy doing kata while some enjoy sparring, some enjoy learning complicated, fancy techniques while some prefer to stick to what works. And all are absolutely valid and relevant.

It is also true that most martial artists, once they have a bit of experience, try to experiment with a variety of different styles to add to their repertoire, and eventually find the things that work or don't work for them, and this is a great thing.

Many systems put emphasis on the need to have a well-rounded skill set, and this is becoming more and more evident in sports like MMA. It is common to see the same people compete in a BJJ competition, a kickboxing competition and an MMA competition. When comparing the sport to what it was 20 years ago, it's also easy to see that just being good at one thing is hardly enough to be competitive at a high level today.

This also spills over to self-defence. Some people are natural strikers, while some people are natural grappler; and with the growing popularity of MMA the chances of facing attackers who have at least some training in fighting arts increases. Furthermore, we know that adrenal response will neutralise most skills that have to be actively though about. In other words, if you have to think through a process, you are highly unlikely to pull it off under stressful conditions. This means that if you find yourself in a position you have never been before, you are unlikely to react in an effective way under adrenal stress.An example of this that has come up in recent conversations I've had was the whether or not studying BJJ is useful for Krav Maga students, as one of the first lessons in self defence is to avoid getting to the ground, and if you do get there to get back to your feet as quickly as possible. But the reality is, that if you have no experience on the ground, and do not understand transitions, positions and submissions, then if the first time you find yourself on the ground is during a street fight, you will not be able to pull off most of the moves you think you know. Again, does it mean you want to get the attacker to tap out? No. But it does mean that you should have enough of an understanding of it so that wherever you end up, it's nothing new.

Does this mean that in order to be a complete martial artist you must be a champion boxer, BJJ black belt and an Olympic wrestler?

Not at all!

But it does mean that you should probably get some exposure to all of these, with the idea that you know enough about how each style or discipline functions so that you can adapt your own style to match it and focus on what you're good at.

So what is the area that you are weakest at?

This question is the most hated one to ask ourselves, and yet the easiest to answer.

The answer is simple - whatever it is you hate doing the most, is probably the area you need the most work on.And why do we hate asking ourselves this question? Because often it means shifting our training to the things that we are not good at, or don't enjoy as much. Especially for those who are already experienced in one area, going back to being a complete novice in another can be frustrating.

It is also good to remember that part of one's development in martial arts is to overcome adversity, build character and address problems with an open mind.Working on those areas that we don't feel comfortable at or know need improvement is an important element of developing and growing as a martial artist and as a person.

Using my personal experience as an example, I found that when I spent time becoming more proficient at the things I didn't like doing, I noticed two things that happened; Firstly, I have become considerably less scared or anxious about doing them. In fact, some of those things have become quite enjoyable! Secondly, once I removed the negativity from my mind I was able to improve much more quickly.I have found this to be the same with regards to certain elements in my career as well – instead of leaving those tasks I dreaded for the end of the day, or tomorrow, they are now the first things I do when I get into the office in the morning. As a result my productivity has almost doubled, and my stress levels have reduced!

Again, it doesn't mean doing those ALL the time FOREVER. But it does mean to you should do those things that you know you don't like doing from time to time.And when you go back to doing what it is you're good at, you'll enjoy it more and be able to apply new ideas to it.

It is often said that in order to master a skill, it has to be performed 10,000 times. Some say 5,000 and some say up to 30,000. Some say 10,000 hours, some say more and some say less. Overall, there is much disagreement amongst experts (and non-experts...) about this.

Let us examine some of the factors that may play a part in mastering a skill.

A saying everyone knows is 'practice makes perfect'. I am very fond of a saying by one of my great teachers, Mannie de Matos, who corrects by saying:'Practice doesn't make perfect – practice makes permanent; perfect practice makes perfect'. I wholeheartedly agree.

Most dedicated martial artists will spend countless hours repeating a particular move or technique in order to perfect it; but as mentioned above, this makes permanent – not perfect. In the case where the repetitions are not perfect, the 10,000-repetition rule can go out the window.If you spend 10,000 repetitions training an incorrect move, can you still be considered a master of that particular skill? Possibly. But is that outcome worth the time spent? Probably not. This means that in order for our repetitions to 'count' or be productive, we have to have another key ingredient – focus.

When observing martial artists who are at a higher level, there is a common thread in the process of learning a new skill:

1. They spend a lot of time getting the first few repetitions right, even if it means they do less of them in a given timeframe.2. They perform repetitions slowly, paying attention to every minute detail and step in the sequence of actions to execute the move, be it a single punch or a complex kata.3. They try different ways of learning to retain the skill – watching the demonstration, having the technique done on them, doing the technique in the air, doing it on equipment, doing it on a training partner (and with various degrees of resistance), asking questions about it, trying to explain it someone else, doing it with their eyes closed, etc. After the session is finished, they will often write their thoughts, or read something about the topic. This combination allows for a more complete, deep and multidimensional understanding of every facet of the technique and, once again, is often done at the expense of doing more repetitions in the same time frame.4. Once the first repetitions are perfected at a low speed, then speed is increased. That being said, even when speed is increased, focus remains.

This may appear very trivial. But the key here is not the speed of the repetition; it is the focus that must be maintained throughout.

This is one of the most frustrating things for many martial artists, particularly when first starting out. It can get boring, and often turns into 'going through the motions', literally and figuratively.

To overcome this, persistence and variation will help. Try and focus for one more repetitions today; two more tomorrow, and so on. Try and change your routine to include different variations or applications of the technique.And a final tip from my experience – try and do the 'boring stuff' at the start of your workout, because at the end of it you will be too tired to focus and will probably leave it until the next time...